Disclaimer: Nothing in this FF is actually mine except the plot of the story~!

This FF depicts scenes of violence and some cursing .

'' speech ''

' thoughts '

* sounds *

* * *

Curun?r was inside the castle again. After he left Caleb alone in the dining hall, he made his way to his guest room and disconnected from Royal Road. He had a meal and then connected to the game again without wasting any time. His adventure was finally getting interesting. He got out of his room and went to explore the castle. Most of the rooms where guest rooms similar to his own, only he was able to find a kitchen, a room for alchemy, a room for blacksmithing, a room for tailoring, a room for sculpting, a room for painting, a room that seemed like a greenhouse and lastly a room with a bunch scrolls and weird stones. Caleb was definitely keeping himself busy, but then again, it was expected from somebody that lived alone.

Every one of these rooms was much larger than the others and Curun?r could see several projects the vampire had been working on at the same time. Most of them were in the alchemy room which Curun?r left without staying long. The first reason for his short visit in the room was the strong smell of the potions. The second and most important reason, was that you never know when one of these things will explode in your face. Nobody thinks Seamus Finnegan is a cool guy.

The sculpting and painting rooms had a lot of projects too and Curun?r got another massive boost on the art stat. The kitchen was a mess and the greenhouse room had some plants which Curun?r swore saw moving so, he didn't stay long in them either. The blacksmithing and tailoring rooms were kept quite clean and it was obvious they weren't being used for a long time. It was just not possible to keep a room this big ,so clean when you actually work in it.

' Being here all alone for how many years only god knows, he probably crafted what he needed long ago. '

Curun?r was interested from what he saw in the last room. A lot of scrolls with symbols and letters he had never seen before were everywhere around the room and on some scrolls were some stones with symbols matching that of the scrolls. However, every stone had a different color. There were red, black, green, blue, light blue, white and yellow. Curun?r went to take a closer look, but he stopped when he felt a burning feeling on his skin.

'' If you are interested in Enhancement, you should probably stay away from the white one. ''

Curun?r jerked after he heard the sudden voice coming from behind him.

'' Oh! It's you, sir Caleb. You gave me quite the scare there. ''

'' Of course it's me boy. I live here alone, remember? Never mind that. I have a couple of questions for you if you don't mind. ''

'' Yes of course. ''

'' First of all, do you want to stay in this castle with me? ''

'' Eh? With you? ''

'' Hate to break it to you like that, but the other Vampires are not going to be as acceptable as I am and let you live in their cities. ''

'' Why won't they? And how come you are different?''

'' As to why I am different, let's just say I have a soft spot for Blood Elves. As to why the other vampires are not going to accept you is because they don't trust strangers nowadays. Most importantly, you shouldn't trust them! Recently the churches got a lot more of power and influence. They are scared for their lives so they won't hesitate to hand you to the churches and gain their favor. ''

'' If that is true, how do I know that you won't hand me to the churches and gain their favor for yourself? ''

As soon as Curun?r finished his sentence he felt a sudden chill. He felt the gravity increasing several times and his legs to give in to the force. He looked around and saw everything turn to darkness, it was no different than being in a closed room and someone suddenly switches the lights off. He looked at the direction Caleb was standing and all he could see was his shiny yellow eyes, slowly turning into red-black color and glowing with a menacing light.

* Ding *

You are in a state of extreme fear

You are stunned

Your combat stats reduced by 99%

Your mental stats reduced by 99%

You are dying from suffocation

'' Boy, the only thing keeping me sane and focused on this everlasting life of mine, is to see these Gods and their fanatics disappear completely from this world. ''

Curun?r tried to say to the vampire that he understood, that he was sorry for doubting him and that this wasn't necessary, but he couldn't get a word out of his mouth. Even the air around him had become too heavy and his lungs didn't have the power to suck the air inside.

The whole thing lasted only for a few seconds, but to Curun?r it seemed like an hour. The darkness slowly left the room and Curun?r had a little control over his body. Curun?r could see new messages that had appeared in front of his face.

* Ding *

You have survived a gigantic mental attack!

All stats increased by 1

Fighting Spirit increased by 5

Fear increased by 5

Dual Minded level 4

Dual Minded level 5

When he could muster enough strength he stood up, but he couldn't keep his balance without the help of Caleb.

'' What the hell was that? ''

'' That... that was about half my killing intent. ''

Curun?r for a moment thought he saw Caleb turn a little red, but he chose to drop the matter.

'' I'm sorry I doubted your intentions Caleb, but in my defense the whole thing looked suspicious. ''

'' No, I am the one who is sorry Curun?r, I shouldn't lose it just like that. ''

'' Never mind that. I don't have anywhere else to go so I am going to take your offer and stay here.

'' Excellent! And now comes the second question. Do you want me to train you? ''

'' Train me? ''

'' Yes boy, you need to be strong if you want to survive in a world where people will hunt you down just for a little fame and quest rewards. ''

'' If you put it like that then I guess I don't have any other choice. ''

'' Good, we are starting now! Follow me. ''

Curun?r followed Caleb to a staircase that was leading them to the underground part of the castle. It was quite the long way down and when they reached their destination, they were on the third underground floor. They stood in a long hallway with four doors on each side.

'' You are going to train in the room behind the first left door. ''

Curun?r opened the door and saw a room with a lot of weapons on the walls. Every weapon was of different size and kind. On the left side of the room were a bunch of scarecrows. Some of them were normal while others had weapons and armors on them. On the right side there were a bunch of big mirrors, one next to another.

'' Since you are still under the effect of the dragon meat bonuses and buffs you got by watching art your stats right now are much higher than any other of your level. We are going to take advantage of that so you can finish the Basic Combat Training Program as fast as possible. Which weapon are you going to use? ''

'' I've never held a weapon a weapon in my life till now so I am not so sure. ''

'' How about you tell me in what range you prefer to fight? ''

'' I don't like long range fights, I prefer to be where everything is close and personal but not too close. So, no long range weapons like bows or javelins and not fist fighting or daggers. ''

'' Ok, I am also going to exclude heavy weapons for you since you are more the agile type. I think you should start practicing with a rapier and when you build up your strength switch to a longsword. Rapiers are more of piercing than slashing, but have similar length with

longswords which is important for you to get familiar with and also are lighter, which is going to help since I don't have any wooden weapons here like training halls do. ''

Caleb moved and got one of the simple scarecrows and placed it in front of the mirrors, then picked two rapiers and gave one to Curun?r.

He moved in front of the scarecrow and started delivering blows. His moves were fast and deadly, all targeting specific areas where he could cause fatal injuries. His moves were also elegant and it seemed like he was moving along with a flow. When he finished, he turned around and said:

'' This is how you use a rapier sword. As I said there is more of piercing than slashing, but it will be helpful since as you get stronger the monsters you are going to fight will have a harder skin or shells with very small areas where you can inflict any damage. Also, it's going to help fighting against armored opponents like knights or paladins who wear full plate armor. ''

'' If it's like that why shouldn't I use a rapier as my main weapon? ''

'' Rapiers have some weaknesses like it's very hard to fight against several opponents. When you fight against many stronger or of similar strength with your opponents you can't just dodge all the time. Some blows will need to be parried or blocked and rapiers just don't have the durability to endure such fights. Also against someone very skilled in close fighting like assassins and monks the long reach of rapier that's used for piercing can become a handicap. Lastly rapiers aren't used as a single weapon, but as dual weapons with a long dagger or shortsword in the offhand. For someone like you who haven't held a weapon in his life, mastering two weapons at once is simply impossible. Of course you can practice for years and learn some advanced techniques to counter some of the weaknesses I just mentioned, but in the end only someone very skilled or talented will be able to use rapiers efficiently. ''

'' Now I get it, so I am going to start practicing with the rapier as long as you explain what's the deal with the mirrors. ''

'' The mirrors are here to help you. Try watching yourself perform your blows on the scarecrow. This way you are going to notice if your moves are too forced. Try to use, fast and elegant moves. You don't need to use all your strength, but just enough so you won't be all over the place. As you saw after each blow I gave, I was back at the original length of my position. I never let the force of my blows to move me forward and the same goes for slashing, if you slash with all your strength and miss the force is going to move you to the left side while your right back is exposed. ''

As Caleb finished talking Curun?r moved in front of the scarecrow and started his training. Caleb watched him for a few minutes and then spoke to him again while he was moving out of the room.

'' With your stats boosted like that for the next 10 hours, you will be able to train without a rest until the effects fade. Once you finish with the training go to the room across this one where I put the old rusty swords and bring as much as you can to the blacksmithing room.

Don't try to open the rest of the doors in this floor, you are not ready to step inside those rooms just yet. ''

* * *

Three hours later Curun?r was able to increase his stats by a lot more than what he had when he was traveling across these endless hill ridges and also got a new skill.

* Ding *

Passive skill: Sword Mastery is generated

Sword Mastery: Increases the attack power and attack speed of the wielder when using swords.

+10% attack power

+3% attack speed

Once he got the skill his training seemed a little easier. It seemed the system recognized his new skill and helped him by readjusting his movements a little.

'' Wow, I am so bad at this that the system corrects my moves. ''

Curun?r little by little was able to improve his moves with the help of the skill and the mirrors and after a while he got a surprise.

* Ding *

New Stat: Charm

Charm: The higher this stat is, the better your physical appearance becomes. This stat makes it easier for you to get favor in both males and females. It also makes your moves more elegant which is why it's such an important stat for dancers. If you already have a good physical appearance the stat will rise faster.

Curun?r thought that he didn't really need a stat that improved his physical appearance since he already had a pretty nice one, but he changed his mind when he read about how it improved his moves and would help him in the future if he needs a favor from someone.

Eight hours after he started, he was soaked with sweat and his breath had become much heavier. His Endurance and Sustenance stats had increased only a moment ago and before his training was over they would increase at least once more. He noticed how his stats increased faster when he trained for a long period of time without a rest. His Sword master had leveled up to level 2 and it was half way to level 3. Not an impressive thing actually, skills in the begining where easy to level up. Also, he had the mirror to help him improve his moves which gradually improved the amount of speed and strength he used to strike without getting out of balance, and that made the Sword Mastery skill raise faster.

Almost ten hours after he started and his sweat was dripping on the floor making small puddles. His speed had dropped a little, but his moves and strikes were more sudden and unpredictable. The motions of his body that indicated he was starting an attack had decreased by a lot and as he could see his reflection in the mirror, the way he moved looked a lot like that of Caleb.

There was a lot of room for improvement though, and Curun?r knew things would be a lot harder once his meal boost was over. He had the permanent gained stats plus his newly gained stats to help him, but still the amount of stats he was going to lose was similar to that of one hundred and twenty levels and that would raise the time needed to finish his Basic Combat Training Program. However, he would be able to get the buffs from art everytime before his training started and that made him feel a little better.

Curun?r now in the last five minutes of his training struggled to not lose consciousness. He was moving more because of muscle memory than his brain giving orders. The fatigue of his body wasn't that great for him to lose consciousness, but for someone who never had done any hard work for so many hours without a rest his mental stress was enormous. He focus however really hard so he wouldn't lose consciousness and receive even the tiniest of benefits until his training was over.

* stab * * stab * * slash *

' FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS '

* stab * * slash * * stab * * stab * * stab * * stab * * slash *

' FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS '

* stab * * slash * * stab * * stab * * stab * * stab * * slash * * stab * * stab * * stab *

' FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS '

The buffs faded away and Curun?r felt his body get a lot heavier. At that point he got several messages and his legs gave away, making him fall on his ass.

* Ding *

Sword Mastery level 3

Fighting spirit increased by 1

New Stat: Concentration

Concentration: A stat that helps you learn or accomplish things easier. You are prohibited from distributing stat points to this stat, and it rises spontaneously, depending on the avatar’s action.

Generating the Concentration stat it was like the game heard his voice and granted his wish. He got a stat that would help him pretty much on everything. Curun?r took a short rest and then moved into the room across the one he trained. When he opened the door, he saw a room almost as big as the one he trained, but was full of old,rusty and broken weapons. At his feet he found two large bags and a note from Caleb saying to pick as many weapons as he can carry into the blacksmith room.

The way up wasn't that easy after so much training and additional weight. It took him ten whole minutes to pass from the underground area to the castle, but once he was there the first thing he did was to check some artworks and take a look of the garden outside. With newly buffs Curun?r moved to the Blacksmith room where Caleb was preparing the fire in the forge.

'' Ten hours and you already look stronger, more elegant and focused. ''

' It's scary how NPCs can notice the smallest of changes. '

'' Yes, the training went well. ''

'' Good, bring all these damaged weapons here next to the forge, I am going to teach you something. ''

'' Are you going to teach me how to repair weapons? ''

'' In a way, yes. ''

Curun?r took the weapons on the left side of the forge and Caleb took a sword. He put it in the forge and waited. Once the blade of the sword had a yellow-orange color he pulled it out and put it in a long cube filled with water. Once the sword cooled down, he put it on the right side of the forge.

'' You are going to do what I just did with all the weapons you brought here. ''

'' I am going to do just that? ''

'' Hahaha, boy you might think it's easy, but believe me when I am saying it's not. You have to be really careful at the time you leave the blade inside the forge. Pull it too soon and the color will be yellow, pull it too late and the color will be red. You must pull it out when the color is light orange. Furthermore, every metal needs different amounts of time till it reaches that state so you have to be really focus to not mess up. Once you finish with them you can rest for the night. Tomorrow you will have more sword training and many more things to learn. ''

Curun?r started heating the blades of the weapons inside the forge and soon he realized in how much he had underestimated the process. Heating more than one weapon wasn't possible for him since they were made from different metal. After a few failure,s he decided to do one at a time and pay real attention to it, and he soon got his first success. It wasn't as good as Caleb's but it was really close. His Concentration stat helped him a little and the successes increased. It took a lot of his time, but right before he started heating his last weapon he got rewarded with a familiar sound.

* Ding *

Passive skill: Heating and Cooling has generated

Heating and Cooling: Heating and Cooling is a passive skill that helps you determine the desirable temperatures of the materials. Different ways of heating and cooling exist and each of them has different results.

He started heating the blade of the last weapon and immediately his new skill activated. Curun?r saw a bar at the bottom of his vision where he watched a line moving from left to right indicating the rising temperature of the blade. After some time passed a part of the bar changed color and once the line reached there Curun?r checked the blade and it had a yellow color. He waited a little more and saw the bar change color again and once the line reached there he pulled out the blade. The blade had an orange-red color which meant the skill wasn't point accurate or at least it wasn't just yet.

He cooled the blade and started the process from the beginning. This time he was checking the bar and was keeping an eye on the blade at the same time. His results were better and his new skill reached level two. It took him 8 hours to finish all the weapons, but he was able to gain a new skill and some increases on the Concentration stat.

He decided to disconnect from Royal Road for the day and have a long rest. When he would be back, hard training and more things to learn would wait for him.

TO BE CONTINUED

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Chapter 5Chapter 7

That's Chapter 6 folks! Once again, I expect feedback from you.

Have fun {[999aag}]